Protesting, what's your view?

[cee-dee]

I'm not in favour of "protesting" when the "protesters" are clearly costing someone else a lot of time and money in removing them and the rubbish they take on to sites.

Who are these people that think they can move on to a site, set up "camp" and then flaunt the orders of a Court?

The latest round of removals is going on here:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35292124

[cee-dee]

The cheek of it?:-

[cee-dee]

[ravendays]

It all depends on whether you care about the environment or want a planet fit for following generations.  If however you are only concerned about yourself or current timeline then I'd guess any form of protest is to be frowned upon.  However the Tories do (in theory) let all practice democracy so these people can carry on much as they are.  Next!

[jd.linklater]

I  have very little objection to peaceful protesters if they have genuine concerns about protecting the environment. Unfortunately most environmental causes always seem to attract the same assorted rabble eg women who regard themselves as 'Earth Mother' types, white guys with dreadlocks, facial piercings, tattoos and the like. I don't know why they think the wider world would look up to them as defenders of the countryside when all they seem to do in the process is leave the usual piles of discarded junk behind them for local councils to clear up at our expense.  You get the idea that most of them are jobless and only attach themselves to these causes because they have nothing better to do and like to be in the media spotlight,

[suzieseaside]

I have nothing against peaceful protests about environmental concerns but object to the trash and rubbish created in protests like these.

I wonder why there aren't many protests about some things like bankers ridiculous bonuses and NHS managers getting massive redundancies and then being re-employed.  In many ways we Brits are wimpy and apathetic and could do with a bit of firing up..

[astrologica]

I take my hat off to them....someone's got to do it. And I'm too old. If no-one protests..they could be fracking under our houses sometime soon.

[cee-dee]

It seems they've gone. Now someone's got to shift all their junk and clear up the mess.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35292124

[upthecreekyetagain]

I guess the cost will fall on IGas and seeing that they are the company the protestors were fighting I don't suppose they'll lose any sleep over it.

[bankhaunter]

Visiting my daughter once and driving down a road, I asked why there was so much rubbish among the trees.

It was the leftovers from road protestors.

[cee-dee]

Who'd you think should foot this bill?:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35387343

[upthecreekyetagain]

 Boils down to a matter of opinion - if you believe there is a benefit to living in a 'free society' which includes the right to protest and the right to have your property protected then policing costs to protect those rights should be paid by society in general.

[bankhaunter]

I would agree though I think it might depend on the form the protest takes. When it comes to pure vandalism on a person's personal property, the protestors if caught should have to pay.

[cee-dee]

So, after hanging around there for nearly two years, causing loads of damage and leaving a heck of a mess behind, protestors gained nothing because the company has decided on the basis of a seismic survey that it's not a commercial proposition to even test drill there never mind frack.

So now they've got to pick up the bill for restoring the site to its original condition even though they never did anything there. All those protestors should be footing the bill, not the company.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35504810

[upthecreekyetagain]

---

@cee-dee wrote:

So, after hanging around there for nearly two years, causing loads of damage and leaving a heck of a mess behind, protestors gained nothing because the company has decided on the basis of a seismic survey that it's not a commercial proposition to even test drill there never mind frack.

So now they've got to pick up the bill for restoring the site to its original condition even though they never did anything there. All those protestors should be footing the bill, not the company.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35504810

---

Not what your link says

"She said the company had carried out a "seismic acquisition programme" on a 42 sq mile (110 sq km) area, which includes the site at Duttons Lane, between September and November."

and

"An IGas spokeswoman said the site would be "returned to its former state, including rectifying the damage caused by the protest camp and protesters"

[cee-dee]

You can read in to things what you will if taking the perverse view and find criticism where none exists.

[upthecreekyetagain]

No doubt there will be additional cost due to the mess the protesters have made - my only criticism is over the exaggeration of saying iGas had nothing on the site.

[cee-dee]

What are you saying iGas had on the site?

It cost Cheshire police £200,000 to shift that rabble and it'll cost iGas a shed load of money to clear it all up. The rabble dug tunnels there so they'll have to be filled in properly to "restore the site to it's former state".

It was a cheek beyond belief for the rabble to say they had permission to be there, cheeky beyond belief that they thought they could take to and leave all sorts of rubbish on the site and even more cheeky to say they lived there and it was their home.

[0125arwen]

Protests are stifled in many ways, such as, http://tinyurl.com/gul84hl, who was he hurting?

Democracy is stifled in many ways, such as, http://tinyurl.com/zvzjbso

So maybe the question is not about the manner of these protests at all,

maybe it's really about should people protest at all.

As an aside I personally think fracking should be banned across the UK, but money talks and morality walks.

[joe_bloggs*]

The protesters might have been a bit "Cheeky",but Igas have been even more "cheeky" going against 86% of local residents living within a mile of their operations who opposed them,local democracy in action,and i,m sure these operations will be opposed countrywide by local residents